Mother and Daughter
by Agent-G
Summary: X23 finally goes and meets the woman that made her, Dr. Deborah Risman. How will this meeting go and will their relationship be changed forever because of it? AGU oneshot.


**Disclaimer I don't own X-Men Evolution or anything about it and I'm not gaining any profit from this no matter how much I would like to.**

**AN: This takes place sometime during the Back to School time line, plus as you can guess from the date this is a Mother's Day themed fic.

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**MOTHER AND DAUGHTER**

X23 now also going by the name Sarah Logan wasn't your normal kid she wasn't even normal by the type of people the lived in the mansion with her. Even among other mutants she was unique and different, mainly she was a clone.

Not a true clone but she was close enough she was made with the DNA of Logan AKA Wolverine by the terrorist organization Hydra for the purpose of recreating the Weapon X soldier. She had literally all her life been trained to be nothing more then a killing machine but not anymore. She had a live now but also a home and a family for the first time in her life.

Well she had a father at least but not a mother…Well…That also wasn't technically true she did have a 'mother' in a way. That was Dr. Deborah Risman, the woman that had created her. Not long ago she had come to the mansion and Sarah had learned that Risman was also her mother; she had impregnated herself in order to make the clone.

Sarah didn't know how to handle that, she was still learning about controlling her emotions that was the finally able to let out but then something like that happens? There were so many questions but she only felt messed up inside emotionally when the subject of her came up. She didn't know what to do or who to talk to about this, Sarah knew Logan wouldn't be impartial and no one else could relate to something like this.

Well maybe Rogue but seeing as how she herself was dealing with this Sarah didn't want to open up an old wound like that for the goth. So for a while now she had been debating something and she just couldn't put it off anymore. Sarah needed to do this she had decided on this day but the question was how to get in contact with just Dr. Risman?

She couldn't try directly through SHIELD or else there would be no way that they could have a private conversation together and she needed it private. She was currently in her room that she shared with Paige on her bed staring up at the ceiling. She was going through all the plans in her mind, after all it was how she got out of Hydra. Okay sure that took her a few years but this was easier, all she needed was some way that she could get a message through to her and not in a direct way.

'Okay so…Who has connections to SHEILD that I can use?' She thought running through her mental list. 'Logan is out since he only knows Fury and I really don't want him in on this. Wanda? She is dating that Simon and Alex was also dating that Lorna person as well.

They were choices and then there was also Vincent and his contacts with those three people that were survivors of Prodigy like he was. She could type up a message and hand it to one of them and then they could send it to someone inside of X-Force who could deliver it to Risman.

It was the best plan she had so she jumped off her bed and to the computer that she shared with Paige. Sarah used it more in the mornings since she was home schooled and by the time Paige got back from high school all her homework was pretty much done on it.

She quickly typed up a message for a meeting with her as well as a more direct contact. She had her own e-mail account that she created under a different name then her own. She used the alias Laura Kinney some times on-line since she didn't like to leave many traces back to her. All that Hydra training in espionage really helped at times to keep her tracks covered.

After it was typed up she saved it to a disk and went looking, any one of the three people she had picked would do it was just a manner of tracking them down. And tracking people down was something she was literally made to do, she sniffed out the closest one there and found of all people Vincent first. He was talking with Kurt and Scott joking around about something. It hadn't been too hard to ask him to talk to him privately he was a very helpful person.

He was only one of the few people that she felt comfortable about since to some extent she knew he could relate to her. He had some similar life experiences like her and because of that she felt she could trust him a bit more then a few of the others. "So what's up Sarah?"

She looked up at the friendly face he had one of those friendly personalities that you just liked. It was a strange paradox at times how he could be so nice and then she had seen him in battle and he changed into fully serious and even deadly. "I need a favour…You keep in contact with those guys in SHIELD right?"

His face got a bit more serious as he looked at her knowing something was up, "Yeah…What's this about?" She explained everything to him and showed him the disk. She also stressed how important this was to her and he seemed to understand she thought she even saw some sympathy in her eyes. "Okay, but if Logan finds out about this he won't be happy."

"Leave him to me."

He smirked at her as he took the disk, "Easy for you to say he wouldn't hurt you. Me on the other hand…Well I still don't know if those claws can cut me and I'm in no hurry to find out." She actually got a small smile on her face at the joke. Humour was something she was learning and one of the more pleasant things as well.

The rest of the day went pretty normally, training with the New Mutants although she was more skilled then them they guessed being with those more close to her own age would help. There was a little homework that was doing with for Mr. McCoy, playing a board game with Jamie, Paige and Rahne. Something called Life of all things it wasn't too bad a game really.

Later that night she checked her e-mail accounts and the secret one she found a new one. She opened it up making sure Paige was out of the room she was kind of a snoop at times. It was from Risman and she wanted a meeting in Bayville Park on Sunday.

Sarah sat back in her chair for a moment, was she really ready for this? Could she face this woman again? After a little soul searching she sent her replay.

A few days passed and her mind kept on going to Sunday, she had never been this…nervous about anything before. She had gone up against giant killer robots and hasn't felt like this. When the day finally came she was distracted the entire day, by the time she wanted to get ready for the meeting she put on some running clothing she figured if she was just out of a run then no one would get suspicious.

She was in her usual black sweat pants and tank top as she headed to the door.

"You going out?" She nearly jumped but stopped herself and swore in her head from a few choice words she had learned while here. She looked to see of all people Logan.

"Just out for a run," She said with s straight face.

Logan looked at her for a bit normally she ran in the morning and was wondering why she was going out so late in the day. That is until there was a crashing sound, "Damn it why can't Kitty get control of that dragon!" Someone said and Logan groaned and marched off to see what happened this time. Sarah took her chance to get out now as she went out of the mansion.

The park wasn't too far away from the mansion thankfully, plus she left early just so that she could check around the area just to be sure that Risman wasn't followed. She made a few laps around the place and didn't notice anyone there that was out of place or suspicious. After making sure Sarah then went looking, it didn't take long to find Risman.

The tall blond woman was sitting at a bench just watching some of the other children play with their parents and siblings. Sarah just stood there a moment studying her, the woman seemed just as nervous given her body language but as she was looking at all the family there she had on a sad look on her face.

'Well…It's now or never,' Sarah figured as she silently walked up to her. Risman didn't notice her until she had sat down next to her.

"Oh god you scared me," She said jumping but then her surprised drained away as she looked at the young girl. She still had her long dark hair in the same fashion but in more normal clothing as well. Then there was the fact that the young girl seemed different, she wasn't as tense as she had normally been. After years of looking after her she had gotten to know how she was pretty well. It was nice to see her more calm and relaxed.

"I'm glad you came," Risman said to her not sure how to even begin all she wanted was to just hug her and take her into her arms like so many times she had been denied. But she held herself off from that, she knew that after all the years she didn't have that right but she hoped to gain that right one day.

X23 looked at her for a moment as she looked back to the kids, she had that familiar ache inside of her whenever she saw things like this. A life that she had wanted but never got the chance for. "I…Have a lot of questions…"

Risman sighed and nodded looking at the children at play, "Go ahead you deserve them."

She had thought long and hard on the things she wanted to know and there was only one little word that said it all, "Why? Why did you make me? If you did give birth to me then why did you let them do all those things to me?"

"It's…not that easy to explain."

Sarah's jaw clenched a bit but kept her tone as civil as she should, "Then explain it as best you can."

Risman knew that she deserved to know the truth. "After the other failures with the different types of cloning it was then thought that a human host would be needed to become an incubator for the clone. I actually volunteered but not for what they thought…You see they wanted a male child, a perfect copy and I…I wanted a child."

X23 looked surprised at her for a moment but let the woman continue on, "I altered the DNA…I made you a girl on purpose because I…I figured that this would be my only chance. I did once love a man but…I lost him and then threw myself into my work. I wanted a child, I just had this need for one and I had already been turned down from a few adoption agencies…So…This was my only chance I felt…" Risman remembered those horrible times and the emptiness she had felt.

"I remember those time I carried you inside of me so well…They were the happiest I've ever been," Deborah smiled as she started to remember those days. Sarah noticed how a hand when to the woman's own stomach. "I would sing to you and talk to you while you were inside of me for hours…I figured that when they found out the sex I could claim that it was an accident and they would start over…but…" The smile was gone now as she remembered that horrible moment. When they said they would still use the child, she had nearly been devastated by that.

"They took me anyway," Sarah said knowing where it was going. She had a moment wondering what would her life had been like if they had let Deborah keep her? Would she be living in a nice house somewhere calling her mom and living a normal life? She put that aside for now she still felt angry towards her for all those years but she was beginning to finally understand this woman.

Risman took a moment as this was the hardest part, "You see…I think Madam Hydra knew what I did…Or at least suspected…when you were born they took you from me…I…I didn't even get to hold you…They wouldn't let me see you even…" She closed her eyes remembering reaching out for her child, hearing her baby cry and not being able to hold her.

"For…For a year they kept me from you…" Risman finally let the tears fall and looked at her little girl. "I tried to keep a brave face but every night when I was alone I would cry myself to sleep…I…I just wanted a child…a daughter…I wanted you but they kept that from me…"

X23 tried to not show any emotion but seeing the pain in her eyes, the tears, her cracking voice and the smells she knew that she was being honest. Sarah had never thought that she had been hurting through all of it a part of her was glad that she had been feeling pain because of it. But…Another part of her she found that she felt sorry for her.

Deborah reached into her purse she didn't think it would be this hard but all these years it was like all the pain just suddenly coming down on top of her in a crushing weight. She pulled a tissue and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry…It's…Just that it's hard to deal with certain memories…"

Sarah could relate to that and gave her a slow nod in both understanding and for her to go on. "If they took you away then how did you get back?" She remembered her as far back as she chose to remember of those days.

"After a year…I regained their trust to get back into the project. That first time I saw you I wanted to cry out in joy just to see that you were alive," Risman remembered seeing her daughter for the first time after a year. She had be so little and so scared by the looks of it. She had wanted to run over and just comfort her to take her in her arms and take her away. "I wanted to hold you so badly…But I knew I couldn't…They told me what they had planned…No physical contact or shows of affection…"

X23 could hear the hate in her voice on that she could see the longing in this woman's eyes. "So why did you stay then?"

Deborah looked at her and slowly reached out X23 wasn't sure what to do but she stayed still not flinching. Deborah then touched her daughter's cheek with her hand one of the few moments of contact that she ever had. The amount of joy that she felt in just touching her now was incomparable to anything she could remember.

"I did it for you…I knew I couldn't stop them…But I had to make sure they didn't hurt you too badly. I did everything in my power to make it less hard on you. I tried…Everything I could to ease your suffering because I couldn't stand to see it."

"Then why didn't you help me get out?" X23 asked her feeling a torrent of emotions inside of her all mixed up.

"I tried I tried so hard…" Deborah said nearly feeling the tears again, "I spent years trying to find a way out for the both of us. To take you away from it all, but also to keep an eye on you…All those years I focused everything I could, I risked as much as I could to help you…But…I was a failure…All those years I couldn't…couldn't protect the one person I cared for in the world…"

Sarah saw her cover her mouth as she looked away. She had never known that Dr. Risman had stayed just because of her. She remembered how she had always been the nicest one to her, she remembered how Risman would read to her from those combat books but every now and then would sneak in pages from actual stories. Maybe it was because of those nice colourful stories was where she got her love of reading from?

She had always been the only one to smile at her now and then, she even remembered how now and then Deborah would while giving her a medical exam run a hand gently over hers. She hadn't really understood why she had been different from the others but now knowing all of this put a new light on it.

Sarah remembered how every year at least when the food was brought in there would be something extra hidden in it. The food had been bland for the most part but sometimes there had been something sweet added to it. She had actually looked forward to those meals and now she knew who must have been the one to do it and above all else why.

She saw how hard this must have been on her, she had never seen this side to her had never known this woman had this kind of side to her. She still felt her anger but it wasn't burning her up anymore. She felt that she was beginning to fully understand things now. Little things that she remembered started to make a new type of sense.

She reached out and touched her arm, Deborah jumped and looked at her startled wiping away a few tears. "When…When I escaped there were holes in the security that weren't there before. I remember a few times that I was going to get caught but then something happened to help me out. I thought it was just luck…But that was you wasn't it?"

Risman nodded her head, "Yes I managed to place a virus in the security grid. When you made your escape attempt I activated it and then once you were free it was chaos in Hydra. It was easy for me to slip out and escape…I went to SHIELD because they were the only people I thought that would protect us…"

She looked at her daughter and smiled, "But I see I was wrong, you've found a place that gave you…gave you the life I've always wanted for you but I could never give you…"

"In…In a way you did when you helped me to escape…" Sarah said softly. If she hadn't put herself at risk she would most likely have been back at Hydra still. That was a fate worst then death for her so in a way she did owe her. She did her best to look after her for all those years and had helped her when she needed it the most.

"I think…I think I can start to understand things now…" Sarah said looking back to the families there. She saw a young girl in her mother's arms and felt a pang of longing in her heart. "I…I still have a lot of issues with you…I'm still learning to trust you and I've learned that forgiveness isn't easy…"

Deborah nodded her head, "I can understand that…And I can't ask you to forgive me…I know what I did and failed to do…I don't deserve to be called your mother…But…A part of me still wants to try, to try and make up for my failures…"

Sarah didn't know what to say about this, on the one hand she got all the answers she had been looking for but now she felt she had something else she wanted. She had a father but…She didn't have a mother, sure there were issues she still had about her but then again was it right to keep this woman in pain? She had suffered just as she had suffered all those years and had guilt eating her up inside for most likely the rest of her life.

Could she just walk away now and let this woman who gave her life suffer alone? Sarah knew full well what it was like being alone and it wasn't something that she wanted to feel again. "We can't change the past…This much I've learned…But that doesn't mean that we can't change things are now…"

"W-what are you saying?" Deborah asked her as there was a slight trace of hope in her voice.

"I still am not sure if I can forgive some of the things you did…But I can try to work past it." Sarah looked at the woman and she could see a bit of herself in her. A few features she shared and she knew deep down that there was some part of her that was also a part of Deborah. "I'm not saying we become a family over night but…Maybe we can…work on it?"

Deborah was choked up about this and at how her little girl was growing up. "Yes…I'd like that."

X23 nodded her head they could e-mail each other now and then now and even maybe talk once and awhile. It would be hard she knew but maybe in the end it was something they both needed. She was after all the only family that Deborah had left, was it right of her to deny her something that she herself had wanted all her life?

X23 stood up, "Well…I need to get back," She saw the disappointment on the woman's face as she rose up nodding in understanding. "I'll…keep in touch."

"Thank you…Sarah," She smiled at her, "Can…Can I just ask one thing?"

She was silent as she thought it over, "Okay, what is it?"

"It might seem silly but…Can I just hold you, just for once in my life?" Deborah asked her well nearly pleading with her and Sarah didn't have the heart to tell her no. The woman slowly walked a bit closer and put her arms around her for the first time in her life she was holding her daughter. The tears fell freely from her as she had finally done the one thing she had longed to do since her daughter's birth.

Sarah at first didn't move but feeling this brought in feelings that she felt when Logan did it. It had to be a family thing since before now only Logan made her feel this sense of security and peace in his arms. Sarah slowly and surly wrapped her own arms around her mother for the first time and even she felt the stinging sensation in her eyes as tears were starting to form.

It would be a long hard road for the both of them to try and salvage their relationship and to even have a real mother and daughter bond. But this day they took the most important first step in that journey that the both of them would take together.

**THE END**


End file.
